Abstract:
AbstractChanges in inter-ocean gateways caused by tectonic processes have been long considered an important factor in climate evolution on geological timescales. Three major gateway changes that occurred during the Late Miocene and Pliocene epochs are the closing of the Central American Seaway (CAS) by the uplift of the Isthmus of Panama, the opening of the Bering Strait, and the closing of a deep channel between New Guinea and the Equator. This study compares the global climatic effects of these changes within the same climate model framework. We find that the closure of the CAS and the opening of the Bering Strait induce the strongest effects on the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). However, these effects potentially compensate, as the closure of the CAS and the opening of the Bering Strait cause similar AMOC changes of around 2 Sv (strengthening and weakening respectively). Previous simulations with an open CAS consistently simulated colder oceanic conditions in the Northern Hemisphere – contrasting with the evidence for warmer sea surface temperatures 10–3 million years ago. Here we argue that this cooling is overestimated because (a) the models typically simulated too strong an AMOC change not yet in equilibrium, (b) used a channel too deep and (c) lacked the compensating effect of the closed Bering Strait – a factor frequently ignored despite its potential influence on northern high latitudes and ice-sheet growth. Further, we discuss how these gateway changes affect various climatic variables from surface temperature and precipitation to ENSO characteristics.Highlights•Opening of Bering Strait cooled the North Atlantic.•Overturning response to Central American Seaway (CAS) previously overestimated.•Opening of Bering Strait could compensate for CAS overturning changes.•New Guinea crossing Equator appears climatically less important.